Inside the Four Sages Academy, autumn leaves drifted on the air—some chrysanthemum-gold, others blood-red. As wind stirred beneath the covered walkways, dead leaves and fading foliage layered across the flagstones.
Beside the stone steps leaned several sparse clumps of chrysanthemums, while beneath the eaves, several spirit fish drifted within a water vat.
The sky stood clear and crisp, cool sunlight spilling over the entire academy grounds.
A woman of aloof bearing walked across the bed of fallen leaves. She stopped before an old, unadorned courtyard whose walls were weathered and mottled, then knocked softly at the gate.
The gate swung open on its own, and from within came Duke Yansheng's clear, resonant voice. "Is it not delightful to have friends visit from afar?"
The aloof woman replied, "I had expected your second half to be, 'no matter the distance, they shall be put to death.'"
Duke Yansheng's tone carried a hint of displeasure. "The mores of our world degenerate by the day; people's hearts are no longer pure. Only when rites collapse and decorum decays across the realm do so many twist and parody the words of the sages. As an esteemed immortal of your generation, why does Immortal Cui mimic the posturing of vulgar scribblers?"
The woman was none other than Cui Wantong, immortal ancestor of the Yan-Chen Cui family. Faced with Duke Yansheng's reproach, she merely gave a rich laugh. "The Sage isn't my ancestor. I found the line amusing, so I remembered it. What, is that a crime?"
Duke Yansheng fell silent. With the gate left half-open, neither yielding, the two remained at an impasse.
Just then, an anxious voice called from inside the courtyard: "Immortal Ancestor, our guest is still waiting at the gate!"
Only then did Duke Yansheng huff. The courtyard gate opened wide, and Cui Wantong stepped inside. Seeing no one there to receive her, she made her own way into the main hall.
The main hall was deeply aged. Every object appeared rustic and antique, yet they shared a single striking trait: an astonishingly exalted status. Every blade of grass and piece of woodwork inside the hall was, incredibly, an ancient immortal treasure.
This courtyard had been the Sage's residence in his twilight years. After the Sage departed this world, immortal lords among his descendants dwelt here generation after generation, establishing an academy centered upon it. Later, as the Second Sage, the Sage of Mind, and the Sage of Principle rose in succession, the academy became the Four Sages Academy.
Duke Yansheng sat unmoved at the head of the hall, making no gesture to rise or exchange courtesies. Master Huaipu stood at his side, looking both anxious and embarrassed.
Cui Wantong did not stand on ceremony either. She sat directly in the guest seat, helped herself to a sip of tea, and remarked, "I hear the academy no longer possesses any sacred treasures?"
Duke Yansheng nodded, unbothered as he answered candidly, "The Martial Ancestor was an Immortal Lord at the absolute pinnacle. Even his residual true spirit wielded the might of an Immortal Lord, slaughtering immortals as easily as butchering chickens. To withstand his contingency, nothing short of a sacred treasure could suffice."
Cui Wantong gave a cold sneer. "Without a sacred treasure to shield you, Duke Yansheng, if you keep carrying on like this, you'll find every step fraught with obstacles hereafter."
A flash of anger crossed Duke Yansheng's face, but before he could speak, Huaipu hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. "We must still work together to claim the realm in the days ahead. Respected ancestors, please..."
Cui Wantong's expression softened slightly. "Wasn't Li Zhi the one you were nurturing all along? You invested so much in him—you're abandoning him just like that?"
Huaipu said with deep resentment, "That Li Zhi is all show and no substance! Campaigning against a mere State of Ji cost him soldiers and generals, and taking a single royal capital dragged on for over a year! Any random disciple sent from our academy could have fought better than that!
"What is more, the academy's two immortal ancestors had arranged everything down to the finest detail, yet he still managed to trigger the Martial Ancestor's contingency and ended up losing the ancient kingly destiny! Had it not been for him, how could two sacred treasures have been destroyed?"
Hearing that the ancient kingly destiny had been lost, Cui Wantong was finally moved. "He even lost the ancient kingly destiny? Tsk, tsk... with omens like that, he truly is beyond helping. And what of you? What makes you think you are any better than Li Zhi?"
Huaipu squared his shoulders slightly, keeping his tone as restrained as possible. "I am of the Sage's direct bloodline, unthinned by the ages."
Cui Wantong nodded. "A descendant of the Sage... On that merit alone, it truly isn't much inferior to the ancient kingly destiny. As for talent, talented men across the realm are like carp crossing a river; having a little more or less hardly matters. Fine. In this collaboration, what do I stand to gain?"
Duke Yansheng said, "If the great undertaking succeeds, the Yan-Chen Cui family shall forever be the imperial consort clan, generation after generation! The position of Empress will belong exclusively to the Cuis. After several dozen generations, our two lineages will be inextricably entwined, and the Cui family will obtain no small measure of the Sage's blood."
"That is not enough. I want the State of Ji and the State of Zhao."
"This..." Huaipu looked troubled.
Duke Yansheng, however, replied, "Agreed."
Cui Wantong was finally satisfied. "I have already mustered nine hundred thousand new recruits and drilled them for over half a year. When the time comes, I will hand these troops over to you as the foundation for your conquest of the realm. Separately, I will appoint a fierce general to field three million elites and strike the State of Zhao in the flank. It's just that Immortal Zhao Li is somewhat troublesome. What means do you have to keep him in check?"
Duke Yansheng stroked his beard and said, "No matter. Our academy still preserves several pages in the Sage's own hand. One of them can mislead Li Fugui into believing that remaining in Zhao is of the utmost fortune."
Cui Wantong's eyes lit up. "Excellent! As long as you can disrupt his judgment for a month, I have the means to trap and annihilate Zhao's main army!"
The two immortals conferred for a long while more, finalizing a host of matters from troop deployments to military supplies, before Cui Wantong finally took her leave.
Once Cui Wantong departed, Duke Yansheng remained seated in his chair, silent for a long time. Master Huaipu hovered beside him, unsure whether to leave or speak, and could only stand by cautiously.
Only after a lengthy pause did Duke Yansheng ask, "Who leaked the news that the sacred treasures were destroyed?"
"Who else could it be? Aside from the two immortal ancestors, who else was present at the time?" Huaipu replied.
***
Wei Yuan paced back and forth in his study, countless numbers floating around him. These were the latest figures on Qingming's economic operations. Qingming's scale had grown immense, its various metrics as numerous as cattle hairs; the domain-wide semiannual report alone had ballooned to over four thousand pages. Wei Yuan was currently pondering whether to issue a major report annually and a minor one each quarter.
Having finished reviewing the semiannual report, Wei Yuan could not help sighing in admiration. "Turmoil across the realm—what fine chaos!"
When the world had been at peace, Qingming's workshops had languished to the point of gathering cobwebs. Now that the Martial Ancestor's seals had only just been broken, it seemed the whole world was full of wealthy patrons, violently driving Qingming's production capacity up to ninety percent!
Yet turmoil across the realm was merely temporary. Sooner or later, the world would be unified, and by then Qingming would have nowhere to direct its production capacity. Wei Yuan had not let temporary success go to his head; he had been constantly pondering a way out of the predicament.
The strategic direction was set; the lingering question was what the Liao Clan's true strength actually was. From the perspective of the Liao Clan, the past few major clashes with them amounted to little more than minor border skirmishes—not even on the same order of magnitude as the current war between the Shamans and the Liao.
Just how formidable were the Liao in battle?
Wei Yuan had pondered this question for a long time without finding an answer. The Liao domain was simply too vast; its depths were an expanse of pitch darkness, leaving no clue as to what lay hidden within.
Wei Yuan had attempted to resolve it through mathematics, but several tools from the new disciplines proved useless when put to the test. He felt that two new theories might be applicable—primarily dealing with how two, three, or even multiple parties matched wits and cunning. Wei Yuan understood the trickery among prisoners, but had struggled to grasp what came after.
When it came to the combat capability of the Liao domain, karmic luck was useless as well; even pouring several hundred million points of human luck into the matter would not necessarily yield results.
Frustrated at every turn, Wei Yuan suddenly felt irritation surge within him, only for clarity to dawn immediately after: What was the point of sitting here and overthinking? Wouldn't a fight tell him everything he needed to know?
As for what to do if he lost? Going purely by Qingming's current industrial output, Wei Yuan felt that even if he couldn't win, he could drag things out. And if he dragged things out long enough, the enemy might just drop dead on their own.
With that, Wei Yuan immediately tapped the fruition of Guiding Wonderful Joy Bodhisattva, poking Xiaoyu thousands of li away so sharply that the boy jumped straight into the air. Then Wei Yuan's oddly distorted voice sounded in his consciousness: "Head to the northern border of Western Jin at once! I have prepared a legion for you there. You shall serve as commander-in-chief and advance into the Liao domain!"
Bold as Xiaoyu was, even he was taken aback. "We're going to war just like that?" he asked.
Wei Yuan replied, "Not a major war, just a test of the Liao Clan's true caliber. I have a feeling that winning this battle will be your opportunity to break through to Scenery Command."
Only then did Xiaoyu's mind settle. "Fine, I'll go. Since it's only a probing attack, we won't need too many troops. How many are you giving me?"
Wei Yuan held up a single finger.
"A hundred thousand? Isn't that a bit few?" Xiaoyu frowned.
Wei Yuan replied, "No. One million! And that is just the first wave."
Chapter 1375